Door-holder.



JOHN BECKER, OF VVIOHITA, KANSAS.

DOOR-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14-, 1906.

Ap h mi fil d March 7, 1906. Serial No. 304,757.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BECKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention contemplates certain new and useful improvements in doorholders designed to hold a door or similar hinged part in various adjusted positions with respect to its closure or casing, so that the door will be prevented from swinging closed accidentally, as by a sudden gust of wind or other cause, in which event the glass or other panels of the door will be liable to injury and the door otherwise damaged.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved door-holder of this character embodying a rack-bar secured to the casing and a pivoted spring-pressed arm mounted upon the door or similar hinged part and arranged for engagement with any one of the teeth of the rack-bar, according to the adjusted position of the door, whereby to hold the door from swinging into closed posi tion, and releasing means designed to disengage the spring-pressed arm from the rackbar and operable from the handle portion of the door, so that the latter may be closed whenever desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a device of this character a jointed or pivoted finger mounted upon the free end of the spring-pressed arm and carrying a dog into engagement with the teeth of the rackbar and a cord or chain so connected to the pivoted finger that it may be operated at a point convenient to the handle or knob portion of the door, so that when a pull is exerted upon the cord or chain the finger will be rocked and the dog released from the rack bar and held out of engagement therewith, so that the door may be conveniently closed and a further object of the invention is to provide an improved door-holder of this type which will be composed of few and simple parts, that may be readily attached to a door and its casing without removing the door or changing the construction thereof, which will be eflicient in operation, and will bein no wise an the way of the proper movements of the cor.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure '1 is a face view of a portion of a.

door-casing and door with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same looking in an upward direction. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a door-frame and door with my invention applied. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view illustrating the latch-arm and its pivoted or rocking finger, the parts being shown detached from each other, and there also being shown in dotted lines a portion of the rack-bar employed.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the door or the part that is hinged, and 2 designates the door-frame and easing or other stationary part to which the part 1 is hinged, as shown. On the casing 2, preferably between the hinges of the door, there is secured a horizontally-eXtendingrack-bar 3, the teeth of which are inclined away from the door and which is held away from the casing by means of outwardly-extending angular brackets 4, to the downward extremities of which the rack-bar is directly secured in any desired manner. The toothed face of the rack-bar is located adjacent the casing but spaced therefrom, as indicated in the drawings, and the attaching means are preferably located on the upper side of the rack-bar, so that the lower side thereof is free and open, as shown. To the door 1 is secured a bracket 5, provided with two outwardly-extending spaced-apart ears, between which is held a pintle 6. On the pintle 6 is pivoted an arm or latch 7 ,and a coil-spring Sis wound around the pintle 6 beneath the pivoted end of the latch or arm 7 and is so connected to the latch as to swing the same in one direction and at the same time press it upwardly into engagement with the uppermost ear of the bracket 5. The free end of the arm 7 carries a pivoted latch-finger 9, which is mounted to turn thereon in the same plane in which the arm 7 swings. The finger 9 is rovided on its lower side with a stud 10, wor ing in a recess 11 in the outer end of the arm 7 and designed to abut against either end of said recess, whereby to limit the independent or relative move- I ment of the finger on the arm. The finger 9 carries on its upper side a dog 12, which engages with the toothed side of the rack-bar 3, and the finger is further provided adjacent the said dog with a bearing-lug, having a flattened side 13 designed to slide over the teeth, but of such a width and in such a position that it will not engage therein. To the finger 9 is connected one end of a chain or cable 14. The said cable passes through two or more screw-eyes or similar guides 15, arranged, preferably, in horizontal alinement on the door, and a finger-loop or similar device 16 is secured to the other end of the chain or cable 14 in convenient relation to the door handle or knob.

In the practical application of the device the spring 8 tends to press the arm 7 so that the dog 12 of the finger 9 will be held in engagement with the teeth of the rack-bar 3. Hence when the door is opened the dog 12 will slide along the teeth of the rack-bar until the desired position has been reached, whereupon the dog will prevent any closing of the door from such position. If now it be desired to close the door, it is only necessary to draw upon the cable 14, which will rock the finger 9 in such a position as to draw the dog 12 out of engagement with the teeth of the rack-bar. The stud 10 will bring up against one wall of the recess 11 and limit the said rocking or independent movement of the finger 9 to such a position that its bearinglug 13 will ride flat over the teeth of the rackbar and permit the door to be closed.

From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided an improved door securer or holder which will act automatically and effectively to hold the door at differentadjusted positions with respect to its casing and that in order to close the door it is only necessary to exert a pull on the cable 14, which will release the locking-catch from the rack-bar. The parts of the device may be secured in their proper relation without unhinging the door, because the pivotarm 7 may yield in a downward direction, compressing the spring 8, so that its free end carryin the latch-finger 9 may be carried underneat the rack-bar and into its proper engagement therewith after the bracket 5 has been secured to the door.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. The combination with a door and its frame, of a rack-bar secured to one of said parts and held in a projected or spaced position therefrom with its teeth facing said part, and a spring-pressed latch mounted upon the other of said parts and pivotally connected thereto and provided with a dog engaging the teeth of the rack-bar.

2. A door securer or holder, comprising a rack-bar designed to be secured to a doorcasing or the like, pressed latch-arm arranged for attachment to a door, a pivoted finger carried b said arm and provided with a dog designed or engagement with the teeth of the rack-bar, and means for holding said finger in such position relative to the arm that the dog will be held out of engagement with the teeth of the rackbar, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A door securer or holder, comprising a rack-bar arranged for attachment to a doorcasing or the like, a pivoted spring-pressed arm designed to be attached to a door, a finger pivotally mounted on said arm, said finger carrying a dog designed for engagement with the rack-bar and also provided with a bearing-lug designed to bear against and slide over the teeth of the rack-bar when the finger is rocked to carry its dog out of engagement with said teeth, and means for rocking said finger.

4. A door securer or holder, comprising a rack-bar arranged for attachment to a doorcasing or the like, a pivoted spring-pressed arm designed to be attached to a door, a finger pivotally mounted on the end of said arm and provided with a dog adapted for en gagement with the teeth of the rack-bar and also provided with a bearing-lug arranged to bear against the teeth of the rack-bar when and a pivoted spring' the finger is rocked, so as to carry the dog out of engagement with said teeth, a stud on said finger, said stud being adapted for engagement with the arm whereby to limitthe rocking or relative movement of the finger thereon, and means for rocking said finger.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN BECKER. [L. s.] Witnesses:

JOHN ABBOTT, EDWARD E. ABBOTT. 

